


Calling You

by airamcg



Series: Diliman U [5]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Human AU, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 00:12:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8034454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airamcg/pseuds/airamcg
Summary: [Pearl: eta is 11am][Pearl: i will call you when we get there okay]   11:47AM"You're checking your phone more than usual. What's eating you?""...Pearl hasn't called yet."





	1. Rose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fuleao](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fuleao/gifts).



**5:43AM**

“Pearl…” starts Rose, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Did you pack your whole _room_?”

“Well—Oof!” Pearl hoists up a backpack that significantly dwarfs her. “You never know what you need in the great outdoors.”

“Didn’t you say you’re camping on some beach?”

Blushing, Pearl mock-huffs. “Yes, well, my point still stands.” She tries to turn to head out, but the backpack hits a wall of the narrow hall, trapping her. “Um, Rose?”

Rose helps Pearl get free, but not before planting a soft kiss on her lips. “I’ll miss you.”

“…it’s just two days.”

“Still, I’ll miss you.”

 

**6:15AM**

> [Pearl: bus is leaving]

[Rose: Have a safe trip! And don’t forget to have fun!!]

> [Pearl: i will]
> 
> [Pearl: eta is 11am]
> 
> [Pearl: im not sure if we have rest stops but i will call when we get there okay]

[Rose: I miss you already.]

> [Pearl: miss you too]

 

**8:30AM**

Rose pats the space beside her as soon as she wakes, but it’s empty.

_Pearl’s field trip. Right._

Groggily, she checks her phone.

[No new messages]

Not that she’s expecting any. Pearl gets carsick easily; she most probably took some medicine to sleep it away.

No need to worry.

 

**8:59AM**

Rose checks her phone again before the first of her morning classes. Her professor is strict about using phones during lectures; the next opportunity to check for messages will be when the class ends at noon.

Well, she can always just sneak out when Pearl calls…

[No new messages]

 

**11:47AM**

“You’re checking your phone more than usual,” someone huskily whispers in her ear.

Rose almost jumps out of her seat in surprise. _Almost_. Thankfully, the worst of her reaction is jerking her ear away from the culprit and clutching at her racing heart.

“Garnet!” she hisses, “You startled me!”

“Careful, Prof Diamond is looking.” They both feign attentiveness, but Garnet continues, “Something’s eating you.”

“Pearl hasn’t called yet.”

“Maybe she’s still drowsy from that no-drowse pill. You know how she is.”

“She still would’ve texted me if they’ve arrived safely, at the very least. You know how she is.”

 

**12:51PM**

[No new messages]

Rose has taken to browsing news sites for recent accidents on her phone, her free hand absently forking lasagna into her mouth, all while ignoring her lunchmates.

Amethyst rolls her eyes. “If you’re worried that much, why don’t you just call her? Y’know, instead of moping.”

Rose’s phone rings.

“Hello?” she answers excitedly.

“Heyy, Rose!”

“Oh. It’s just you, Bismuth.”

“Uh, rude?”

“Sorry, I just... thought you were, uh… someone else.”

 

**1:04PM**

After lunch, she tries calling Pearl.

“The number you have dialed is out of service or coverage area. Please try your call again later.”

 

**2:31PM**

Worriedly, she tries again.

And again.

And again.

“—you have dialed is out of service or coverage area. Please try your call—”

 

**5:43PM**

She drags her feet on her walk back home, never noticing the lovely sunset.

Not even noticing the missed calls from an unknown number.

 

 

 


	2. Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'll miss you."
> 
> "...it's just two days."
> 
> "I'll still miss you."

**5:44AM**

“I’ll miss you.”

Caught off-guard by Rose’s kiss, Pearl feels her heart flutter. Without opening her eyes, she leans close until their foreheads touch, mumbling breathily, “It’s just two days.”

“Still, I’ll miss you.”

Pearl initiates the kiss this time, tugging until Rose is pressed against her…

And then…

 

**6:02AM**

“—mmmm… my Pearl ♥”

“Ohh Rose ♥”

“…Oh.”

“Oh?”

“Oh no.”

“What is it?”

“Pearl! You’re going to be late!”

“It’s fine! I’ll just sprint to the meeting place!”

“With  _ that _ backpack?!”

“…okay, so I might have miscalculated the, uh—“

“Hush now, darling. Just run!”

“O-okay! Okayimgoingnowiloveyoubye!”

 

**6:13AM**

[Pearl: right on time]

> [Rose: Thank goodness!!!]
> 
> [Rose: I’d feel totally horrible if I made you miss your field trip!]

[Pearl: making out with you is worth it]

> [Rose: Don’t kid. I know you’ve been looking forward to this for months.]

[Pearl: got me there]

[Pearl: bus is leaving]

 

**6:22AM**

Barely ten minutes in, she already wants to throw up.

She downed her usual motion sickness meds one hour before departure, as instructed. It just needs to take effect, hopefully sooner than later.

Ignoring the raucous bus chatter, Pearl closes her eyes and thinks of warm snuggles in bed.

 

**10:23AM**

As she rouses from sleep, Pearl realizes four important things:

  1. She woke up thirty minutes earlier than planned.
  2. They’re currently on a winding road.
  3. Their guide has just announced that they’ll be arriving one hour later than estimated.
  4. Reading Rose’s messages was a bad idea.



 

**12:21PM**

The road has certainly done a number on her. Despite all her efforts using every disinfectant and cleansing solution in her bag, Pearl’s phone still stinks of acrid sick.

She turns it on.

_ Well it seems to be working, at least. _

She dials to call Rose.

[No network coverage.]

 

**1:32PM**

“Campsite is two kilometers away,” their instructor-slash-guide says. “Start walking, folks!”

Her classmates respond with a collective groan.

Pearl isn’t too bothered about the hike, however. Her body is used to physically demanding activities after all.

No, she’s more concerned about… something else.

_ I hope Rose isn’t fretting,  _ she thinks, checking her phone again. _ Stupid deadzone. _

“Put that away,” says her camp partner, Peridot. “We’re crossing the stream now.”

“ _I_ can  _ multitask _ .” Pearl pockets her phone anyway.

“Regardless! We need to be carefu—“ Peridot slips.

Instinctively, Pearl grabs her arm and pulls.

They both tumble into the stream.

 

**4:41PM**

After hiking and teambuilding, they start prepping dinner.

Pearl’s phone is in the container of uncooked rice.

“Peridot, can I borrow your phone?”

Peridot attempts to protest but ultimately decides against it. She gruffly hands her phone over. “Don’t drop it.”

“I won’t.” Pearl gratefully smiles.

[No network coverage]

 

**5:43PM**

She finds a payphone in the admin lodge. Huzzah!

Eagerly, she dials Rose’s number from memory.

No answer.

She tries again.

And again.

And again.

Still no answer.

She tries to recall their boarding house’s landline.

“Sorry, hun. Wrong number.”

She hangs up and slams her head against the phone.

 

 

 


	3. Calling You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.)
> 
> _Busy??_

**5:54PM**

[23 missed calls]

All barely 30 seconds apart.

All from the same landline.

_Pearl…?_

 

**5:55PM**

[No new messages]

No new calls either.

Rose tries to call the landline’s number.

(BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.)

_Oh for love of—_

 

**5:55PM**

Pearl tries to call Rose’s phone again.

(BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.)

_Wha—busy?!_

 

**5:56PM**

Rose tosses her phone at the bunk which used to be Pearl’s bed (it hasn’t gotten much use lately).

She flops down on the mattress of _their_ shared bed.

Then, she waits…

 

**5:56PM**

“Miss, you can’t use our phone for _telebabad._ You’ve already had way more than the allowed five minutes.”

“They’re not answering on the other end. Please, _please_ just let me try one more time.”

“No, you’ve had more than enough.”

“But—“

“And it’s almost 6PM. Don’t you have a camp assembly?”

“But—!”

“Look! Your instructor’s looking for you already!”

And thus, Pearl reluctantly leaves.

 

**5:59PM**

Peridot is miffed.

Evening assembly is about to start and her camp partner is nowhere to be found. The Pearl she knows is too much of a straight arrow to be late for anything. That’s one of the reasons why Peridot agreed to partner up in the first place.

But the Pearl today is nothing like what Peridot’s used to. She puked on her phone on the bus, has been cagey and out of sorts all day, and now she’s MIA. It’s as if she left her brain at home or something.

Even so, she didn’t get mad at Peridot for getting her phone drenched in the stream. Pearl even assisted her through the trickier parts of the hike trail, and patched up any scratches she got afterwards.

Okay, so maybe Peridot isn’t too miffed at her after all.

That doesn’t mean Pearl can just be a no-show! And at their very important camp assembly, no less!

“…where the frack are you, you stupid gunky clod?!”

As if in response, someone’s phone starts ringing, albeit a bit muffled.

 _Wait— a phone_ RINGING _??_

Peridot digs through the rice until her fingers feel Pearl’s phone vibrating, ringing.

Then, she runs.

 

**6:11PM**

 

 

 

 

**END.**

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed it, and I would love to hear what you think of it. 
> 
> ***
> 
> written for the prompt: "rosepearl / can you hear me"
> 
> also draws heavily from the manga _Sasameki Koto_ , and the song [(Baccano! ED) "Calling" by ODA Kaori ](http://gendou.com/amusic/lyrics.php?id=8343)


End file.
